If you’ve ever asked a librarian about research on the internet, you’ve probably heard that you should be careful about the information you find. Most internet sites lack editors and fact checkers (that’s YOUR job), so there are many factual errors and inconsistencies that can creep in. That’s compounded by the fact that many websites are researched using only the internet, so an inconsistency on one website can spread all around the web.

But, I bet you’ve wondered, just how often can that happen?

I can’t give you any statistics, but I do a lot of searching and I periodically run into factual errors on the internet.

And the real story is that the Swedish settlement of what is now the United States predates the European settlement of Wisconsin. New Sweden was a colonial outpost in Delaware in the early 17th century. Check out this encyclopedia entry on New Sweden from Credo Reference.

Whenever searching the internet, it’s important to keep a watchful eye on anything you find. Repetition doesn’t make something true. Nor does a citation from a legitimate source guarantee that it was used correctly. Let your own knowledge help guide you in sniffing out inaccuracies, and when in doubt, do some more research. While mistakes do appear in more traditional, published resources (I have found those as well), it’s less likely to occur repeatedly. If you find two legitimate sources that agree (and that don’t cite each other directly), you’re probably on good factual footing.